By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — A government transparency nonprofit sued the Oklahoma Treasurer’s Office Wednesday alleging the treasurer failed to release copies of contracts related to a program processing state employee pay.
Oklahomans for Transparency in Government, represented by attorney Richard Labarthe, filed the lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court and alleged that state Treasurer Todd Russ did not respond or recognize an open records request made March 16 for the state’s contract for the “Way2Go Card” program and related communications.
Russ said in a statement that two status reports have been provided and the request was “overly broad.” His office reached out to the Attorney General’s Office for guidance weeks ago, he said.
“As written, the request is overly broad and encompasses thousands of records,” he said in a statement. “Based on its language, the Office is unable to identify with reasonable specificity the records being sought. The hours required to fulfill the request are likely in the hundreds, as documents must be reviewed for personal identification, information and other sensitive material requiring redaction under the law.”
Russ said his office “takes openness and transparency very seriously.”
The Treasurer’s Office partnered with Conduent, a corporation providing business services, for the program to give state employees the option to have their pay deposited directly onto the Way2Go debit cards rather than a bank account, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit requests that the Treasurer’s Office be required to release the requested documents and cover attorney fees and costs.
Labarthe said Oklahomans for Transparency in Government filed the requests after a “whistleblower” reported to them in February that parts of the Conduent Way2Go contract were “assigned or sublet” to Gateway Bank or a related entity.
Gateway was founded as a mortgage company in 2000 by Gov. Kevin Stitt and eventually merged with a bank.
The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The requested records included contracts and any relevant amendments or extensions, subcontract agreements, correspondence and communications related to the contract and documentation of payments to Conduent and any subcontractors.
“If we’re dead wrong about our underlying theory and Gateway Bank or no affiliate of Gateway or the governor is involved, then we’ll happily dismiss and go home,” Labarthe said. “But there’s no way of knowing that right now, and we can’t have this kind of stonewalling by people at the highest levels of state government. It’s completely inappropriate.”
Labarthe said the Treasurer’s Office has been contacted three times, but the group has received no response.
He said the open records request was also made to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, but was directed back to the Treasurer’s Office.
Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, who supports the litigation, said the Treasurer’s Office should provide documentation and acknowledgement of the open records request.
“We don’t have any communication, not even a simple acknowledgement of this request,” he said. “Just goes to show that we have a systemic problem here. This is not a simple email got lost in your junk box. This is a problem that goes up a chain and it needs to be resolved, and we need answers. The public deserves that.”
